News from the Hawaii Department of Transportation today is worth noting for visitors and residents who want to park at our island airports. And, a common arrival trick we’ve used ourselves may no longer work. This comes as visitors and residents all gear up for the return to holiday Hawaii vacations. Unprecedented demand at the holidays has returned for the first time in several years.
Hawaii airports have always suffered from overcrowding. Peak summer, prime weekends, and holidays are a time when parking is iffy. And now two airport parking lots are the first to be declared completely full. Read more below.
Prior arrival parking tip in doubt.
One trick that we and countless others have tried is no longer a sure thing. When several people arrive together and they have substantial luggage, even golf clubs, this worked great. One person would go and get the rental car. The other people would get the luggage. The rental car could be stored in nearby parking (not so much at the non-adjacent CONRAC at HNL) while the other passengers claimed luggage. Then everyone could meet up in the parking lot and help get things underway.
Turo is no longer to blame.
Turo cars are no longer being parked at Hawaii airports which is a good thing. Previously Turo parking was compounding the problem at Hawaii airport parking. Now Turo is no longer permitted to park cars on airport property.
Honolulu Airport (HNL) parking full.
The state Department of Transportation just said that “As of 10:45 a.m. Monday, Dec. 19, parking lots are approaching capacity at Daniel K. Inouye International (HNL) and Lihue Airport (LIH). Check with your airline on possible delays and cancellations and get dropped off if needed.
Kauai Airport (LIH) parking full.
The state said today that public parking at Lihue Airport (LIH) is also approaching being full. The state did not indicate when they believe parking will become available again. Airport parking looks to be getting worse again, much worse.
On Kauai, the state previously asked that those traveling be “dropped off at the airport to ensure they have enough time to clear security and board flights,” since the 675 available parking stalls are now occupied.
Airport parking, specifically on Kauai, has been a serious problem for quite some time. Some say it is previously Turo-related, although Turo has since made arrangements for alternate parking. It isn’t clear whether or not the repaving project is still in process.
Hilo Airport (ITO) parking full.
After publishing this article earlier, the Hawaii Department of Transportation announced that Hilo Airport parking lot is also full.
The consolidated car rental facility at Honolulu Airport is open.
Here are all the details of the New Car Rental Facility at Honolulu Airport Now Open. In Honolulu, the new consolidated car rental facility features more than 5,000 parking spots and we’ve found it to be a great improvement.
Expect the remaining Hawaii airport parking lots to also become full.
Why would there be visitor cars in the parking lot?
Kona international airport is full during peak times and is about 90% full all the time
Ran into this on Maui. Was flying to HNL in August for family in hospital. Found the lot full. Had to rebook, drive back to Lahaina (1 hr), and get a ride with a friend (another hour). Mahalos to Hawaiian for making rebooking so easy and no fee. Guy at the booth at OGG said full status was posted online but I couldn’t find it. It worked out but had to do that for the 4 subsequent round trips over the next 3 weeks, which was a drag. Maybe instead of spending money on that cool, 100 yd train to the rental cars it could have been spent on additional parking.
And why can’t we blame Turo? It may not be allowed, but how is that enforced?
Thanks for the heads up on parking! We always have a neighbor drop off our vehicle in the parking lot prior to arrival whenever it is convenient for them to do so (ie. a Costco run). We’ll look to just have a normal pickup vs. the usual short-term parking.
So with so many cars now at the airports, availability of rental cars must have improved. So why are we still being Gouged by the car rental companies?
Hi Mike.
We are paying more for rental cars at LAX then we’ve ever paid in Hawaii. Just saying.
Aloha.
Wow, looks like HTA controlling tourism is off to a great start!
Too many cars.
Not enough public transport.
The Lihue airport parking lot has a lot of vehicles that are derelict and should have towed a long time ago
I saw 2 tour vans at OGG that had a suspicious amount of dust on them, like they hadn’t been moved in a few weeks, and probably weren’t going to be. Unless it is on camera, I don’t think they log when a vehicle enters, so unless it is distinctive, like a tour van, it is probably hard to tell how long a vehicle has been there, and if it might be abandoned. There’s easier places to abandon a car, though.